Revolving turret assembly and anchorage



Aug. 3, 1944.

E. BALSTAD REVOLVING TURRET ASSEMBLY 'AND ANCHORAGE Filed M 6. 1943 INVENTOR. flaw-4205915740 Wag/Gm;

Patented Aug. 1, 1944 REVOLVING TURRET ASSEMBLY AN D ANCHORAGE Edward Balstad, Philadelphia, Pa. Application May 6, 1943, Serial N0. 485,337

8 Claims.

This invention relates to rotary turrets and is concerned primarily with the provision of certain improvements in a turret construction of the type illustrated and described in' the co-pending application of Edward Balstad, Serial No. 414,375, filed October 9, 1941, Revolving turret assembly and anchorage.

For many years warships of the various classes from battleships down to gunboats have been provided with rotary turrets upon which and entitled are mounted guns and protecting armor, as well as the various mechanisms employed in loading and elevation operations incident to firing. While various improvements have been suggested from time to time to eliminate certain difficulties which have been recognized to. exist, there hasbeen, as v platform must bear the strains and stresses incident to the recoil of the guns at the time of firing. Obviously, it is highly important that the platform remain over an. extended period of time in its initial stationary condition and not be thrown out of order due to breakage of parts,

excess deflection, and premature wear, since any of these factors tends to decrease the effectiveness of gun fire, and, in extreme casesQmay render the guns useless.

Because of this need, and further in view of the enormous load which the platform must support, it has been the practice to mount the platforms on roller bearing assemblies with which are associated retaining devices such as clips, which maintain the platform in proper position, particularly during firing of the guns. The recoil of gun fire tends to depress one edge of the .gun platform and elevate the diametrically opposite edge. The said co-pending application provides retaining clips which results in an arrangement which is highly improved as compared with anything previously known. These retaining clips are positioned at the outermost peripheral edge of the gun platform and take advantage of the longest possible lever arm in reducing tilting stresses to a minimum,

The present invention has in view, as a highly important object, the provision of a turret construction of the character aforesaid, which includes an improved arrangement for lubricating the roller bearing assembly that supports the gun platform. Heretofore, it has been the practice to employ a relatively heavy grease for this purpose. Inasmuch as the rollers are not in- 308231) v 7 closed, the grease picks up dirt and splinter fragments which not only seriously impair the lubricating effects, but actually functions as a grinding solution rather than a lubricant. In accordance with this invention, the roller bearing assembly is completely inclosed and immersedin a bath of lubricating oil. Important detailed objects and advantages ofv the invention are associated with the provision of the oil seals for accomplishing this arrangement.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of improvementsin the roller bearing assembly itself. With the gun platformsupported upon the rollers, it is obvious that the crest or top line of tangentialcontact with the gun platform takes its proportionate share of the load. It is therefore believed to be highly advantageous to provide a roller bearing-assembly in which it is possible and entirely practical to employ a larger number of rollers than has heretofore been thought possible. Thus, the weight of the loading platform is distributed over a greater number of bearing elements. It is equally important to at the same time provide for th easy and quick removal of any desired roller or rollers which might become damaged or worn, and while the track elements between which the rollers are interposed remain in their relative positions.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a rotary turret of the character aforesaid, including a roller bearing assembly made up of rollers, each of which comprises two complemental conical elements, which interfit and with which is associated a spring tending to'maintain the conical elements in a desired relative position. The springs included in' these rollers are particularly important as they insure a proper centerin of the turret pan plate, regardless of disturbing forces such as the listing of a ship on which the turret is mounted.

Various other more detailed objects and ad vantages of the invention, such as arisein connection with carrying out the above noted thoughts in a practical embodiment, will in part become apparent and in part. be hereinafter stated, as a description of the inventionproceeds.

Figure 2 is a detailed view of the roller bearing assembly employed beneath the pan plate;

Figure 3'is an enlarged detailed vertical section taken through the roller bearing assembly and immediately associated parts. This view is taken about on the plane represented by the line 3-3, Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged detailedview, partly in section, and partly in elevation, bringing out the joint construction in the oil seal rings.

Referring now to the drawing, wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts, and first more particularly to Figure 1, a turret pan plate is identified by the reference character In and is generally a rotating platform upon which the guns and various associated parts are carried; This pan plate III is of a smaller diameter than the design now being commonly used. A revolving or movable trackway II supports the outer peripheral edge of the pan plate I and is joined thereto by the welded joints shown at I2 and I3. An inner bulkhead I4, that is substantially circular in formation, upstands from the inner edge of the ringlike trackway II and is positioned by its engagement with a shoulder I5 formed in the trackway I I and held in this position by welded joints shown in I 6 and I1. An outer conical bulkhead I8 is similarly positionedag-ainst a shoulder I9 of the trackway II and the'welds and 2| maintain the assembled relation. Radial webs 22 extend between the bulkheads I4 and I8 and are welded both to these bulkheads and the trackway l I.

The underface of the trackway II includes a roller raceway-23 which is slightly inclined as illustrated. This raceway 23 is designed for the reception of a-giant roller bearing assembly made up of a plurality of individual rollers, each of which is referred to in its entirety by the reference character R. It is evident that the weight of the rotarytrackway II, pan plate I0, and their connected parts, is borne by the crest of the rollers R.

A lower stationary trackway 24 is provided with an upper inclined bearing raceway 25 which also receives the roller bearing assembly made up of the rollers R. This lower trackway 24, of course, supports all the weight of the rotary parts that are carried by the roller bearing assembly.

This stationary track 24 is ringlike in shape and is supported by a ringlike conical bulkhead or turret foundatiomsuch as depicted at 26 and 21. The outerperipheral edge of the lower trackway 24 carries a ringlike block 28, which may be made in sections and which is removable from the trackway 24. This block is normally held in position by bolts 29 and functions as a guide or retainer for the rollers B.

At thetime of gun fire, there is a decided tendency of the upper trackway II to tilt and raise one portion, while the diametrically opposite portion tends to dip. In order to minimize the re-,

down clips becomes necessary, shims may be inserted between the flange 33 and the stationary track 24. V

As is clearly brought out in Figure 3, the cirgun fire.

cular bulkhead 34 depends from the inner edge of the rotary track I I, and may be anchored thereto in any preferred manner, as by the bolts shown at 35.

While the slight conical taper of the rollers R, together with the inclination of the tracks I I and 24, would tend to keep the rotary track in a centered relation with respect to the stationary track, additional means to maintain this relation is highly desirable in view of the displacing force exerted at the time of gun fire. Thus, a ring 36 is shown as anchored to the underface: of the rotary track II as by webs 31. This ring 36 includes the outer peripheral bearing surface 38, which receives lateral support at the time of? gun fire from a sectional thrust bearing 39, that is carried by the stationary track 24, adjacent to its inner periphery.

The inner portion of the stationary track 24 is undercut as shown at 40 to provide a camlike shelf which receives the thrust bearing 39. The latter is of a sectional construction, and may be made of bronze.

Referring for the moment to Figure 2, it will be noted that the rollers R are maintained in assembled relation by overlapping links M which receive the ends of the roller shafts, which will be later described.

Referring now again to Figure 3, each of the rollers R is shown as comprising a main body part 42, formed with a bore 43 through which passes a roller shaft 44. The bore 43 is enlarged to provide a counterbore 45. Received in this counterbore 45 is a plug extension 46 carried by a roller thrust collar 41. The collar 4'1, together with the plug extension 46, is provided with a bore which receives the shaft 44. A compressed spring shown .at 48 is positioned in the counterbore 45 and normally exerts a tendency to spread the thrust collar 41 from the main body portion 42 of the roller. A dowel pin shown at 49 is received in aligned recesses in a main body portion 42 and thrust collar 4'! to prevent relative rotation between these parts.

It is evident that the extremities of the roller shaft 44 are received in aligned openings in the overlapping links 4 I. Spacer rings such as shown at 50 may be interposed between the end portions of the shaft and the links. Lock nuts 5I are threaded on the end of the shafts 44 and maintain the assembled relations of the parts of each roller. If it becomes necessary to adjust any of the rollers R, either by contracting the parts 42 and 41, or expanding them, as in compensating for wear, this may be accomplished by either tightening or loosening the nuts 5I as the case may be.

It is particularly important to note that the rollers do not take the horizontal forces set up by It is true that the thrust collar 41 and main body part 42 are initially compressed, but when the ring 36 engages the thrust bearing 39, the horizontal force of the gun fire will be taken by these elements. rather than by the rollers.

To provide for the complete enclosure of the roller bearing assemblies, an oil pan 52 is shown as extending between the stationary track I I and the ring 36, which is carried thereby. An oil seal 53 is positioned to seal the space between the ring 36 and the lower stationary track 24. Another oil seal 54, of generally similar construction,

'seals the space between the flanges 32 of the clips 3| and the upper track I I.

Each of the oil seals 53 and 54 comprises a sectional ring, the various sections of each having complemental bevelled ends, as shown at 55 in Figure 4. These bevelled ends are formed with aligned openings 56 and. bolts 51, pass through these aligned openings 54, and are anchored to the respective track. Coil springs shown at 58 are disposed about each of the bolts, and, by their expansive force, tend to urge the oil seal rings into sealing position.

Through long continued use, or for other reasons, it may be necessary from time to time to replace certain parts of the above described mechanisms, and provision is made for simple and quick removal when necessary. The removal of any of the rollers from between the two tracks ll and 24 requires that the bolts holding any particular section of the block or ring 28 be taken out so that that section may be removed. The

nut is then taken from the damaged roller, as is the nut from the roller on each side of the damaged one. The links 4| are then manipulated so that the outer end of the damaged roller receives no lateral support and is free to move outwardly as soon as the inner nut 5| and inner links 4| are similarly removed. Just as it is necessary to first remove the holding clips 30 in order to take olT the outer nuts 5|, it is also necessary to remove the oil pan 52 to obtain access to the inner nuts 5|.

Due to the fact that the rollers are frustro conical in shape with their inner ends of smaller diameter, a slight tilting of the rollers will aid with their quick removal, even though the space is restricted.

While a preferred specific embodiment of the invention is hereinbefore set forth, it is to be clearly understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact constructions, illustrated and described, because various modifications of these details may be provided in putting. the invention into practice, within the purview of, the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a turret construction of the character described, a movable trackway formed with a roller raceway, a stationary trackway spaced from said movable trackway and formed with a roller raceway opposite to said raceway on said movable trackway, a roller bearing assembly received in said raceways, holding clips carried by said trackwaysat the outer peripheries thereof, and constituting a closure for the space between said trackways, said holding clips being anchored to one of said trackways, an oil seal associated with the other of said trackways and said clips, a closure for the space of said trackways at their inner peripheries, and an oil seal associated with said last mentioned closure.

2. In a turret construction of the character described, a movable trackway formed with a roller raceway, a stationary trackway spaced from said movable trackway and formed with a roller raceway opposite to said raceway on said movable trackway, a roller bearing assembly received in said raceways, a bearing ring carried by said movable trackway and adapted to engage the inner periphery of said stationary trackway, a closure carried by said ring and saidmovable trackway for closing the space between said trackways, an oil seal associated with said ring and said stationary trackway, holding clips anchored to said stationary track and having flanges engaging said movable track, and an oil seal associated with said flanges and said movble track.

3. In the roller bearing assembly of a turret construction, a roller comprising a .main body portion formed with a bore and a counterbore, a thrust collar having a plug extension received in said counterbore, said thrust collar and plugextension being formed with a bore in alignment with the bore in said main body portion, a,roller shaft in said bores, and expansion means in said counterbore tending to spread said main body port on and said thrust collar.

4. In the roller bearing assembly of a turret construction, a roller bearing comprising a frustro conical main body portion formed with a cylindrical bore, a counterbore, frustro conical thrust collar constituting a continuation of said main body portion and having a plug extension received in said counterbore, said thrust collar and plug extension bein formed with a cylindrical bore inalignment with the cylindrical bore in said main body portion, a roller shaft in said ali ned cylindrical bores, an expansion spring in said counterbore tending to spread said main body portion and said thrust collanand means for preventing relative rotation between said main body portion and said thrust collar.

5. In a turret construction of the character described, an oil seal comprising a sectional ring made up of a plurality of sections with the adjacent sections formed with complemental bevelled ends, said bevelled ends having aligned openings therein, an anchoring bolt passing through each set of aligned openings, and an expansion spring carried by each of said bolts.

6. In a turret construction of the character described, an oil seal comprising a sectional ring made up of a plurality of sections with adjacent sections having complemental bevelled ends, each pair of bevelled ends being formed with aligned openings, an anchoring bolt passing through each set of aligned openings, each of said anchoring bolts having a threaded end whereby it is adapted to be screwed into the trackway of a turret, and a head, and an expansion spring carried by each bolt with each spring interposed between said head and said sectional ring.

7. In the roller bearing assembly of a turret construction, a roller comprising a main body portion formed with a bore and a counterbore, a thrust collar having a plug extension received in said counterbore, said thrust collar and plug extension being formed with a bore in alignment with the bore in said main body portion, a roller shaft in said bores, expansion means in said counterbore tending to spread said main body portion and said thrust collar, and controlling means for said expansion means, whereby said roller may be adjusted.

8. In the roller bearing assembly of a turret construction, a roller comprising a main body portion formed witha bore and a counterbore, a thrust collar having a plug extension received in said counterbore, said thrust collar and plug extension being formed with a bore in alignment with the bore in said main body portion, a roller shaft in said bores, expansion means in said counterbore tending to spread said main body portion and said thrust collar, a shaft in said bores and passing through said spring, and nuts threaded on opposite ends of said shaft and adjustable to vary the relative position of said main body portion and thrust collar.

EDWARD BALSTAD. 

